We recently were doing some background review of funding we received from AANDC (INAC) since our inception. Here is the financial breakdown since 2005 for funding received from AANDC.

Academic year ending 2005 – $389,000 Start-Up

2006 – $280,000

2007 – $280,000

2008 – $252,200

2009 – $294,000

$1,495,200 Subtotal

2010 – $1,294,596

2011 – $1,240,348

2012 – $1,314,106

2013 – $1,516,539

Projected2014 – $900,000

$6,265,589Subtotal

$7,760,789Total

AANDC’s investment over the nine years is $1424 per course. That’s taking 5447 course credits over the nine years and dividing it by the $7.7M. Looking at it another way, a total of 3005 First Nation students, living on reserve, have been positively impacted by Credenda, receiving credits towards their graduation. We started out in five communities and currently have a presence in thirty-six communities.

Reviewing the history of our first four years of funding, we received New Paths For Education Program funding, however much of our costs were subsidized by the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC). Each of our Credenda staff were employed by PAGC, and were required to do other duties in addition to Credenda. What is important to note, at the time AANDC did not fund us at a higher level because AANDC was worried that online education would not work. Credenda was constantly being asked to prove or show that online learning works. We were under considerable scrutiny to prove ourselves. When AANDC finally received assurances that we were providing good results, we were able to secure a CFA for ourselves as a school. Our funding increased because we were no longer attached to PAGC and we were able to access all the funds. It is interesting to note that at the time AANDC was seeking assurances from us, Credenda was being held up nationally as a flagship project by AANDC.

This is an ethical and moral issue. We have proved ourselves; we have demonstrated results; we have been held to a higher level of accountability than other schools; all to have it taken away because someone or some collective of people decided what was good for Credenda and our students. The challenge we are faced with is that every time we appeal to AANDC’s good nature, we feel that we are being self-serving. But if we don’t speak up for the students, who will? We are getting BCR’s of support from Chief’s and Council’s, but many of them have their own issues, and Credenda hasn’t topped their list of priorities.

In our discussions with a number of Members of Parliament, some have obviously made a call to AANDC to obtain their information and are just saying that AANDC does not provide core funding or base funding for Credenda. They are simply restating the thought that Credenda is a service and not a school. However, there are those MP’s who have raised the question, and a valid question at that. “How can AANDC expect a school to operate without any base funding, since they have to plan and hire teachers, like any other school without any guarantee of student enrollments?” We have been asking ourselves the same question for the past year and a half when all this discussion came to the table. It certainly has not helped when a few bureaucrats seem to have had their own agenda with regard to educating us on how to run a virtual school. Being told in a meeting by an AANDC individual within the Saskatchewan Region that ‘we do not have to listen to you, we can do what we want’ does not, in any way, seem supportive towards our organization and towards the need to ensure that our First Nation students are able to receive required courses for graduation, wherever they live. Yes, we have to operate like a business, but we are still a school. Look at any school division in Saskatchewan and the Director of Education is now called the CEO, but it is still a school division totally reliant on government funding to operate.

It is becoming more clear that AANDC does not have the best interest of First Nations students as their primary objective. If they did, this would not be an issue. Just look at Bill C-33, it only references “learning” two times in the entire legislation. We are here to facilitate student learning. That’s why this whole process is so grievous to us as school administrators. We hear the stories of sorrow, sadness, brokenness, addiction, loss of dignity, from our students and we cannot help but care for those hurting students. We are giving them hope to succeed and better their lives and not have to be dependent on the system for their livelihood. All this is lost to save a few dollars? Are not our First Nation students worth and deserving of more?

We really need to hear from someone in AANDC regarding our funding issues, and we hope it will come from you. We have appreciated your public support for us in the past. However, we are frustrated with the lack of communication from other AANDC individuals after we have sent numerous emails, left messages, and scheduled meetings that were cancelled without advanced notice. I hope that we can hear from you very soon, as we have little time to resolve matters before it becomes too late for Credenda to recover from the shortfall of funding.

In my last blog I shared about the importance of equitable access to education. Then I came across this image which described the issue of equity is about fairness, while equality is about sameness. Equity is about justice. We as First Nations are asking for equity, the equality will come later as we take advantage of the opportunities.

Then I came across this image this evening that really challenged me because it spoke of the importance that we take a stand. A couple of weeks ago, I called us to Take a Stand Together. Martin Luther King Jr, who was jailed for his convictions and the stand he took for equity and ultimately equality said:

Will we stand idly by and say nothing about what is happening to our First Nations funding across Canada? Protesting seems so radical, but saying nothing and doing nothing is essentially agreeing with it. Albert Einstein said, “If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.” So we must speak out from a place of truth smothered in grace-filled dignity, because we do not attack the man, we speak out about the injustice of the situation.

Please watch the inspiring story of Kakenya Ntaiya: A girl who demanded school. She took a stand and it paid off.

Dear Chiefs and Councils, Yesterday, Minster Bernard Valcourt tabled the First Nations Control of First Nation Education Act. If you didn’t have time to read it yourself, here a few highlights: It begins with a lot of preamble giving acknowledgment for the needs of our First Nation students, but the following opening statement misses the mark right away with this: Whereas First Nations children attending schools on reserves must have access to elementary and secondary education that allows them to obtain a recognized high school diploma and to move between education systems without impediment… What’s missing from this statement is “equitable access“, without the word “equitable” the government does not have to ensure that all First Nation students are given the same access to education no matter where they live. This is an important distinction because it means students living in Fond du Lac may not be given the same opportunities to access education due to their remoteness as a student from Muskoday that is just outside Prince Albert. The second highlight is the purpose statement: The purpose of this Act is to provide for the control by First Nations of their education systems by enabling councils of First Nations to administer schools situated on their reserves, to delegate that power to First Nation Education Authorities or to enter into tuition or administration agreements in accordance with this Act.Last time I checked, we had treaty which recognized us as a Nation, not within a nation, but a nation that reported to the Crown and lateral to the Government of Canada, not underneath. The establishment of First Nation Education Authorities infringes on our jurisdictional right to self-govern because it is being imposed through a legislative act. Further to that, this Act excludes those regions that have entered into their own agreements for self-government through an Act of Parliament. Section 5: This Act does not apply to (a) a First Nation that has the power to make laws with respect to elementary and secondary education under an Act of Parliament or an agreement relating to self-government that is given effect by an Act of Parliament, including a First Nation that is named in the schedule to the Mi’kmaq Education Act or the schedule to the First Nations Jurisdiction over Education in British Columbia Act; or (b) the Sechelt Indian Band established by subsection 5(1) of the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act. This clearly excludes our Saskatchewan First Nations. Then Section 43 (2) The methods of calculation must allow for the provision under sections 32 and 33 of services to each First Nation school and to persons referred to in section 7 attending such a school that are of a quality reasonably comparable to that of similar services generally offered in a similarly sized public school that is regulated under provincial legislation and is located in an analogous region. This means that our First Nations must provide the same level of service as a neighbouring provincial school of a similar size, yet may receive more funding to provide those services. I use the word service, but I think we need to careful with that word, because we offer education and learning opportunities, not a service. The word “service” is a business or industrial term that moves our primary purpose away from what we do with our students, which is educating them for lifelong learning. The other issue here is that they are limiting the classes, services etc. to the same level as the neighbouring provincial school. These rural provincial schools are often no better off than the First Nation school. They cannot attract teachers or provide all the classes and opportunities a student needs either. What we need to ensure is equitable access to classes, supports and opportunities, similar to urban school divisions. The final highlight comes from Section 48 (3) The regulations may incorporate by reference laws of a province, as amended from time to time, with any adaptations that the Minister considers necessary. (4) The regulations may vary from province to province. This section suggests that provincial laws can be, by reference, transferred to and enforced on First Nations. I believe we have the ability to establish our own regulations that are equal or superior to the Province, because from a First Nations worldview, we believe in educating the whole child, “mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.” Not even the province can do this. But more importantly, they don’t have jurisdiction over our First Nations treaty territory. So that brings me to our need for help from you, as Chief and Council. At Credenda, we are equally as concerned as you about the educational needs of our students. We have offered courses and classes to First Nation students all across the province who did not have equitable access to course offerings at the local school level. We were able to have this paid for by AANDC. Now they want to suggest that we are a service provider that does not qualify for core funding. So who loses again? The students! Credenda students have a 74% success rate, so they have demonstrated that they can achieve. We have offered 4900+ credits to students since 2005. That is a lot of students getting the necessary courses and credits to supplement their high school program and graduate. We have been contacting other Chief’s and Councils across the region asking for their support in signing a BCR in support of our program. The AANDC RDG, Anna Fontaine, told us that if we have the support of our First Nations, they will reconsider our funding situation. AANDC wants to cut off our funding and have us establish service agreements with each First Nation and First Nation Educational Authority and have them pay for the classes. But AANDC will not be providing more money to the First Nations to cover these costs. So they are ripping us all off once again. I’m supplying you with a BCR of Support that has been prepared in advance by us outlining the challenges. We stand with you in this fight for our rights, and we are asking you for your help.
Sincerely,

BCR of SupportWHEREAS: Credenda Virtual High School is a provincially accredited online First Nation educational institution with charitable organization status; AND WHEREAS: Credenda has received approximately $12M in funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) since 2005 as part of the New Paths for Education strategic plan for long term investment in education, which has been showing significant results;AND WHEREAS: Credenda has offered over 4900 student classes to First Nation students across Saskatchewan since 2005 with an average success rate of 75% (low of 68%, high of 83%);AND WHEREAS: The proposed First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act, scheduled to be introduced into legislation September 2014, has been delayed until 2016;AND WHEREAS: based upon the upcoming proposed First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act, AANDC has unilaterally determined to terminate Credenda’s funding agreement as of June 2014 and is subsequently requiring First Nations to pay directly for classes; AND WHEREAS: No additional funds are being redirected to First Nations to accommodate such costs until after 2016, adding additional costs on top of the shortfall First Nations education is already currently experiencing;AND WHEREAS: Academic achievement would be impacted negatively creating a wider gap from an already low national graduation rate of 39% among First Nation students (compared to 88% nationally for all students); THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Credenda receive continued funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada as per their prior Contribution Funding Agreements (CFA’s) of 2011 – 2013 in order to continue to operate.AND FURTHER MORE:WHEREAS: Credenda Virtual High School was first created in 2005 to address the shortage of math, science, and literacy subjects, with accredited, certified teachers able to deliver the necessary courses to northern Saskatchewan First Nations students;AND WHEREAS: It is abundantly clear the shortfall does not only exist in the maths, sciences, and literacy areas, but in all areas, including the humanities and other core Saskatchewan courses;AND WHEREAS: The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Credenda Contribution Funding Agreements made provision to fund all classes at the Grade 7-12 levels due to the ever existing and increasing need;AND WHEREAS: The Saskatchewan Regional Office of AANDC unilaterally developed and imposed the VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOLS MANAGEMENT REGIME for 2013-2014, changing how Credenda was funded and restricting funding to only the maths, sciences, and literacy;AND WHEREAS: All First Nations students, regardless of where they are located, deserve equitable access to courses and resources to ensure their success as they move forward in life;AND WHEREAS: AANDC, through various means, funds other virtual high schools across Canada (Wapaskwa Virtual Collegiate in Manitoba, Kewaytinook Internet High School in Ontario, SC Cyber in Alberta);AND WHEREAS: AANDC does not restrict the funding for other virtual high schools to only maths, sciences and literacy classes;AND WHEREAS: Credenda Virtual High School is a provincially accredited online First Nation school with charitable organization status; AND WHEREAS: All courses offered by Provincial and First Nations accredited schools are funded without restrictions or exceptions; AND WHEREAS: To date in 2013-2014, Credenda has offered over 300 classes, without funding, to First Nation students in need of courses that fell outside of the AANDC approved subjects areas;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: we request that Credenda, as a First Nation school, be funded by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada for ALL classes provided as per prior Contribution Funding Agreements, as the other virtual high schools are funded and as other First Nation and Provincial schools are funded.

I really don’t want to be political, but I recognize the value of engaging politicians when an organization such as Credenda is in need of intervention when the bureaucrats fail to listen. To be fair to the bureaucrats, they are only implementing the directives that are passed down to them. However, the challenge we face are the many different interpretations that come out of one directive, resulting in varied decisions.

This has lead me to the conclusion that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) is not an advocate of the First Peoples of our First Nations. Let me explain. Since 2005, Credenda has had an increase in the number of students that have registered with our school for supplementary classes, which they were unable to receive at their local schools. Many of our remote northern schools across Canada are challenged in finding specialized math, science, literacy, and humanities experts. Students from over 40 First Nations in Saskatchewan have attended our classes with 73% receiving high school credits. Compare that to the national average of 39% of our First Nation students getting a high school diploma, these numbers are fantastic.

My natural thought process leads me to believe that when something is successful, you back it, support it, fund it, because in the big picture, these students will go on to post-secondary education and training with success, and will rely less on the system for support. The cost savings are huge. But instead, agencies like AANDC see success as a threat. One AANDC individual made the comment that, “Credenda is too successful,” hence they needed to put a cap on the funding otherwise we might grow beyond their means. What an ironic statement. From a strategic planning perspective, as these students pass through a school like Credenda and get their education, a life is changed, transformed for success creating a legacy of hope for the rest of the students in the community to strive forward and learn with purpose. It might take 20 years to change the patterns or the self image that has been created among our youth that we First Peoples are failures, but it will change.

So a First Nation school is “too successful!” I guess we aren’t the failures we have been lead to believe we are.

Here are some of the specific challenges that we have been facing. Over the past years, AANDC has been changing the rules. We had a three year agreement which funded all classes. In the second year of our agreement, AANDC decided to develop the Virtual High School Management Regime, which would redesignate our status from a school to a service provider. We were funded as any other school based on nominal roll for the courses we taught, for the staff we hired to teach, and develop curriculum, and the supports we provided. Despite our objections to change the agreement, AANDC unilaterally changed our agreement.

What is important to note that during this time we found the rules changing for calculating our year end reconciliations. In 2011-12, they found reasons to deny us over $200,000. In 2012-13, they have looked at every way possible to deny us another $200,000 plus reconciliation. Already this totals over $400,000 being taken from our budget, putting additional strain on our organization to teach the increasing number of students registering with Credenda. Then this year, because of the newly imposed Virtual High School Management Regime, between September and February, we were disallowed 190 classes because they were classes such as Law, Communications, Journalism, Native Studies, Psychology, and more, because AANDC was only going to pay for math, sciences, and literacy. Every other region in Canada funds all courses, but Saskatchewan decided not to fund them. Those 190 classes translated into over $300,000 in lost funding. Add all those up and we are already at over $700,000 in lost revenues over the last two and a half years. And they have the audacity to tell us that they are concerned about our accumulated debt, when they were the ones to create it. I think we have done amazingly well to stay operational, but something needs to give. We can’t keep operating this way.

The people who will lose the most will be our students. It’s not fair. More than that it is not right. Not unlike the South African’s struggle against apartheid was a struggle for equality. Our First People in Canada are in struggle for equality. Our treaties position us nations, not within a nation, but equal to the nation of Canada. Further to that our students are in a struggle for equitable access to education afforded every other student has the right to access.

So we are engaging with our MP’s, MLA’s, and our Chief’s and Councils for support. I am outlining below our appeal. We are asking everyone who cares about First Nations education to tweet, like on Facebook, share on Linkedin what is happening with us and the four other First Nation online schools in Canada. We need your help, not your pity. We have hope that we can change things, but we can’t do it without you.

~

WHEREAS: Credenda Virtual High School is a provincially accredited online First Nation educational institution with charitable organization status;

AND WHEREAS: Credenda has received approximately $12M in funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) since 2005 as part of the New Paths for Education strategic plan for long term investment in education, which has been showing significant results;

AND WHEREAS: Credenda has offered over 4900 student classes to First Nation students across Saskatchewan since 2005 with an average success rate of 75% (low of 68%, high of 83%);

AND WHEREAS: The proposed First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act, scheduled to be introduced into legislation September 2014, has been delayed until 2016;

AND WHEREAS: based upon the upcoming proposed First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act, AANDC has unilaterally determined to terminate Credenda’s funding agreement as of June 2014 and is subsequently requiring First Nations to pay directly for classes;

AND WHEREAS: No additional funds are being redirected to First Nations to accommodate such costs until after 2016, adding additional costs on top of the shortfall First Nations education is already currently experiencing;

AND WHEREAS: Academic achievement would be impacted negatively creating a wider gap from an already low national graduation rate of 39% among First Nation students (compared to 88% nationally for all students);

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Credenda receive continued funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada as per their prior Contribution Funding Agreements (CFA’s) of 2011 – 2013 in order to continue to operate.

AND FURTHER MORE:

WHEREAS: Credenda Virtual High School was first created in 2005 to address the shortage of math, science, and literacy subjects, with accredited, certified teachers able to deliver the necessary courses to northern Saskatchewan First Nations students;

AND WHEREAS: It is abundantly clear the shortfall does not only exist in the maths, sciences, and literacy areas, but in all areas, including the humanities and other core Saskatchewan courses;

AND WHEREAS: The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Credenda Contribution Funding Agreements made provision to fund all classes at the Grade 7-12 levels due to the ever existing and increasing need;

AND WHEREAS: The Saskatchewan Regional Office of AANDC unilaterally developed and imposed the VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOLS MANAGEMENT REGIME for 2013-2014, changing how Credenda was funded and restricting funding to only the maths, sciences, and literacy;

AND WHEREAS: All First Nations students, regardless of where they are located, deserve equitable access to courses and resources to ensure their success as they move forward in life;

AND WHEREAS: AANDC, through various means, funds other virtual high schools across Canada (Wapaskwa Virtual Collegiate in Manitoba, Kewaytinook Internet High School in Ontario, SC Cyber in Alberta);

AND WHEREAS: AANDC does not restrict the funding for other virtual high schools to only maths, sciences and literacy classes;

AND WHEREAS: Credenda Virtual High School is a provincially accredited online First Nation school with charitable organization status;

AND WHEREAS: All courses offered by Provincial and First Nations accredited schools are funded without restrictions or exceptions;

AND WHEREAS: To date in 2013-2014, Credenda has offered over 300 classes, without funding, to First Nation students in need of courses that fell outside of the AANDC approved subjects areas;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: we request that Credenda, as a First Nation school, be funded by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada for ALL classes provided as per prior Contribution Funding Agreements, as the other virtual high schools are funded and as other First Nation and Provincial schools are funded.